The White House Office

Domestic Policy Council

The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) coordinates the domestic policy-making process in the White House and offers advice to the President. The DPC also supervises the execution of domestic policy and represents the Presidents priorities to Congress. Even before the formal creation of the DPC, some form of a domestic policy staff has existed in the White House since the 1960s. President Lyndon B. Johnson assigned a senior-level aide to organize staff and develop domestic policy. In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon issued an executive order that created the Office of Policy Development, a large White House office with jurisdiction over economic and domestic policy. President William J. Clinton split the office, forming the current Domestic Policy Council and the National Economic Council.

Director of Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes

Melody Barnes is the Presidents Domestic Policy Adviser and the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, which coordinates the domestic policy-making process in the White House. Before joining the White House, Barnes served as the Senior Domestic Policy Advisor to President Obamas campaign. Prior to joining the campaign, she was the Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress. From 1995 to 2003, she served as Chief Counsel to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee. In those capacities, and as Director of Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and assistant counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights, she worked extensively on civil rights and voting rights, womens health, religious liberties, and commercial law. Barnes received her bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received her law degree from the University of Michigan. She began her career as an attorney with Shearman & Sterling in New York City, and is a member of both the New York State Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association.

National Economic Council

The National Economic Council (NEC) was established in 1993 to advise the President on U.S. and global economic policy. It resides within the Office of Policy Development and is part of the Executive Office of the President. By Executive Order, the NEC has four principal functions: to coordinate policy-making for domestic and international economic issues, to coordinate economic policy advice for the President, to ensure that policy decisions and programs are consistent with the President's economic goals, and to monitor implementation of the President's economic policy agenda. The NEC is comprised of numerous department and agency heads within the administration, whose policy jurisdictions impact the nation's economy. The NEC Director works in conjunction with these officials to coordinate and implement the President's economic policy objectives. The Director is supported by a staff of policy specialists in various fields including: agriculture, commerce, energy, financial markets, fiscal policy, healthcare, labor, and Social Security.

Background and Overview

"The particular faith that motivates each of us can promote a greater good for all of us. Instead of driving us apart, our varied beliefs can bring us together to feed the hungry and comfort the afflicted; to make peace where there is strife and rebuild what has broken; to lift up those who have fallen on hard times. -- President Barack Obama The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships forms partnerships between government at all levels and non-profit organizations, both secular and faith-based, to more effectively serve Americans in need. The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships coordinates 12 Federal Centers for Faith-based and Community Initiatives. Each Center forms partnerships between its agency and faith-based and neighborhood organizations to advance specific goals. For example, the Department of Labor (DOL) Center forms partnerships between DOL and community-based groups to better integrate those groups in job training and workforce development programs. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center helps to link DHS with community-based groups to address disaster response. Similar efforts are being implemented through Centers at the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, and Veterans Affairs as well as the Small Business Administration, Corporation for National and Community Service and US. Agency for International Development. The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships also coordinates the Presidents Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. This Advisory Council is a group of 25 leaders from both faith-based and non-sectarian organizations, each serving 1-year terms. The Advisory Council forms recommendations on how the Federal Government can more effectively partner with faith-based and neighborhood organizations.

Office of National AIDS Policy

The Office of National AIDS Policy will focus on coordinating our continuing domestic efforts to reduce the number of new infections in the U.S., in particular in segments of the pop ulation that are experiencing new or renewed increases in the rate of infection. In addition, the Office will be working to coordinate an increasingly integrated approach to the prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS. The office will also emphasize the integration of domestic and international efforts to combat HIV/AIDS. In the U.S., there has been important progress in providing care and treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS, including housing and other essential supports, and in preventing new infections through reductions in the transmission rate of HIV. In addition, there have been important advances in the broad research agenda to find a cure, develop better treatments, and develop new interventions to prevent new infections. ONAP also coordinates with the National Security Council and the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, and works with international bodies to ensure that Americas response to the global pandemic is fully integrated with other prevention, care, and treatment efforts around the world. Through the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative, the U.S. has made enormous progress in responding to the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, working with countries heavily impacted by HIV/AIDS to help expand access to treatment, care, and prevention. As the HIV/AIDS pandemic approaches its thirtieth year, these successes give us much to celebrate, but much work remains to be done. With more than 56,000 new infections in the United States each year, we must do more as a nation to stop the spread of HIV infection. President Obama is committed to re-focusing public attention on the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic. At the same time, the Administration is committed to our ongoing efforts to ameliorate the global pandemic.

White House Military Office

The White House Military Office (WHMO) provides military support for White House functions, including food service, Presidential transportation, medical support and emergency medical services, and hospitality services. The office oversees policy related to WHMO functions and Department of Defense assets and ensures that White House requirements are met with the highest standards of quality. The WHMO Director oversees all military operations aboard Air Force One on Presidential missions worldwide. The Deputy Director of the White House Military Office focuses primarily on the day-to-day support of the WHMO. The WHMO's operational units are the most visible part of the WHMO's support to the President. The WHMO units include the White House Communications Agency, Presidential Airlift Group, White House Medical Unit, Camp David, Marine Helicopter Squadron One, Presidential Food Service, and the White House Transportation Agency. To assure proper coordination and integration, the WHMO also includes support elements such as operations; policy, plans, and requirements; administration, information resource management; financial management and comptroller; WHMO counsel; and security. Together, WHMO entities provide essential service to the President and help maintain the continuity of the Presidency.